The Circle of Magic
by Arashi Uzumaki-Namikaze
Summary: Merlin is now in 2011.  He is immortal, and a girl meets him.  The girl helps him out of his depression, and offers him a chance to save those he lost.  With a group of friends, they travel over 1000 years back to Camelot...Merlin/OC,others inside


Summary: Merlin is immortal; he is alive in 2011. A girl finds him, when he's about to end it all, and offers him help, and a sanctuary. With her brother, and friends, the girl helps him return to Camelot. Now the circle will form, and legends will rise.

Pairings: Merlin/OC, OC/OC, OC/OC, Arthur/OC, OC/OC. Probably Mordred/OC if it gets that far, or a brother-sister relationship with more than one of the ones I'm playing with. Camelot will never know what hit them, when Merlin and the others arrive!

A/N: I own Mario Kart because I own a copy of the Wii game. Merlin belongs to BBC, along with all the Merlin characters that appear in the real story, but my OCs are MINE. They are also based off people I know.

If you recognize yourself, and I'm talking to all of you who are in this fanfiction as characters' bases, please don't come hunting me down about pairing issues. It was a bolt of inspiration and insanity at once and I know it's not going to happen in the real world. I did try to put an already-together couple in this fic, though, so let's see how that one works out.

IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME then ignore the above message. Then again, I doubt most if any of you do. People's characters (that are based off them) are going to develop differently, and I can promise you there will be a difference between the real-world you and your character.

I'm also sorry about not updating my other stories. One of them I can't remember where it was going, and the other one's file for the chapter got lost, plus it was crew season (for those of you who haven't read Savior's prologue, I am on the school crew team, meaning updates are scarce to nothing between November and May) and tomorrow I have two exams. Exam week is _this week_ at school & I'm doing this to help calm down (since writing calms me down). It's also one of the few days I've had time in between homework and exercise to post.

**Chapter One: To Camelot, Part One**

I had never seen anything like it in my life. You see, I'm a relatively normal girl when it comes down to things.

My name is Sky. Short for Skylar, but I like being called Sky better. My best friend is Katherine; she is always there, it seems, to help me out of problems. However, she hasn't been where I've been.

I have pretty plain golden-brown hair and periwinkle blue eyes with just a hint of green eyes. My skin was pale; I'm seventeen years old now, and have two annoying little brothers. My hair has just a hint of red in it when it's caught in the sunlight and right now it's tied back in a braid behind my head to make it more manageable (it's fairly wavy/curly at times, especially now in the summer that it's humid).

Naomi, another friend of mine, like Katherine, heard of what happened to me, and how I'd been in the hospital getting checked for hypothermia along with the rest of our boat. It was scarier than anything that had ever happened to me before, and she had spoken to me last year about a dream with a marking on the back of her hand in purple, and a pink one on her back. Both had hurt.

These seemed to tie into the markings I was seeing, on myself in my dreams. You see, there my eyes were blue-gray and I had longer hair, that was red-gold and darker skin, but the setting was a place I recognized. Camelot.

_Merlin_, the TV show, was a new thing to me but I loved it anyway. I even wrote a few fanfiction stories about it, and quickly got into the legend of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. I always wondered what it would be like to be there…

Now I'm looking down the path as I continue my run. It's late June, school's just gotten out and I'm enjoying my free time in the only way I know how, now that crew's over.

I'm on my school's crew team, and I love every minute of it. It's hard work, but it pays off. Everyone is in pain with you; the team spirit makes me feel included, in a way I have never felt before. I was always the odd girl out, the one that never fit in, the one that hated wearing skirts and stopped playing dress-up when I was six. I had a few neighborhood friends but after the age of seven I was no longer the definition of normal for my age group, if I ever was.

However, when I was eleven I built my first emotional walls. Perhaps that's not exactly true, as I only remember the good parts of what happened earlier in my life, but this is the first time I can remember that I was verbally abused for being who I am. The walls didn't fall until this year; I had a few friends, but not many and I often felt disconnected from people around me. I became more of an introvert and loved to read; I still do, but not to the extent that it blocks out everyone else.

I can still block people out, but I ended up having trouble getting the 'walls' to drop around the crew girls last year. This year is much better, and I feel much more comfortable, and confident in who I am.

Enough rambling. As I ran, I could smell something in the air, like the tang of an open fire's smoke, but there was no visible smoke.

A scream of pain came from up ahead and I arrived just in time to see a black-haired boy, about my age, on his knees on the ground. He was crying. I stopped running, turned off my iPod, and pocketed it (I always have pockets in my pants for this thing; it's practically part of me!) before walking over to him and placing my hand on his shoulder.

Wide periwinkle blue eyes, exactly like those of Merlin looked back at me. He sighed, and made as if to stand up, but I knelt in front of him instead "Don't. You don't have to if you don't want to."

I was shocked to hear his voice, so sad and broken in reply "I do. I failed them. I failed all of them-I let him die. You don't understand," he said, staring at me as his eyes flashed golden. Then suddenly it all fell into place.

"Crap," was the first thing out of my mouth, and then a laugh "How on earth do I manage to get myself into these situations?" I was staring at _Merlin_. _The_ Merlin of legend. Only something wasn't right; he was too young.

"Is something the matter?" he asked, blinking at me "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Skylar; nice to meet you," I said, with a smile on my face. It must have worked, because he smiled back at me "So, what's your name?"

"Merlin," he replied softly. I was right; this was Merlin of legend "Some people call me Emrys, but I don't care anymore. You don't understand, _I let him die_."

I couldn't explain the feeling his words evoked in me. I had always dreamed of meeting Merlin, but this-this was even better than meeting him. Here he was real, not a TV character.

"Merlin, look at me," I commanded, and he stared into my eyes "You did not fail. He did not fail. The person at fault is the one who ended his life in the end, Mordred."

"How do you know that?" he whispered "Who are you?" His eyes were wide, as if he expected me to attack him "How do you know that I am who you say I am?"

"Skylar," I replied with a smile, "is my name. As for how I know, I only just realized. You're rather lucky; I don't think my parents are at home, and my brother is likely to be on the phone with his girlfriend again, so would you like to come with me?" I offered him a hand as I stood up. He nodded, and took it "Good. Now, since I have to be back by," I checked my watch, "Well, I left early and they didn't notice, so I have about fifteen minutes to run two miles. You coming?"

Merlin nodded to me and we took off at an easy pace for me, which was a 7:30 mile pace. It would get us back home just in time for my parents to leave the house.

"So, why are you helping me? For all you know I could be lying," he said calmly to me as we ran.

I shook my head "I've seen that look before. I've dealt with it before. Eight years ago one of my best friends died of a bad attack of croup, which is an infection that closes ups your airways and makes you stop breathing. I felt it, but her parents…the look in their eyes was so much like yours that I know you aren't lying. That, and I've got a few other things to tell you. How old are you _really_?"

Merlin sighed "Well, technically I'm over a thousand, but I've been alone with my pain for so long it doesn't really matter. I was frozen at the age I came to Camelot, forever. Unless Arthur released me from his service, I could not die, and even then I'm immortal," the warlock admitted. The ground was quickly becoming familiar to me as we ran and I glanced around us. "Kilgharrah died eighteen years ago, and now I have nowhere to turn," he told me sadly "The last Dragon is dead, so what is the point of my existence?"

I couldn't find an answer for him at the moment, but at the same time a strange tingling was starting in my spine "Merlin, if you had a chance, would you go back?" I asked him. I couldn't help but ask.

"Yes," Merlin said "With no regrets. I could lose some people all over again, if only I could save Camelot and Arthur like I should have instead of letting Morgana enchant me," he said, clenching one fist "Morgana is the reason Arthur is dead, because she held me to the wall and made me act upon the feelings I had for her to let Mordred kill him. He could not bring himself to kill the boy he'd come to see as his own son…" Merlin growled, a growl I had only heard coming from one other person.

Myself. I could only growl like that when my very rare anger made its way to the surface. I almost never got angry. When I did it felt like something was caged inside of me. When that caged feeling left me and I still got angry…

…

That's when the burning/freezing feeling started and it only hit me when my brother was threatened back when I was sixteen. My littlest brother was threatened and I nearly lost my temper. That day I resolved never to lose my temper if I could help it, seeing as I had nearly done so and I had managed to scare the living daylights out of the person threatening him in the process.

Wait. Eighteen years ago, on what date? I had to ask "What day did Kilgharrah breathe his last breath?" I asked him softly, curious now. If I was right, and I prayed that I wasn't, then things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated "Did he tell you why?"

"Kilgharrah breathed his last breath on April 29th, and he told me it was because it was his time. An infant was to be given his essence, the dragon within giving said infant power and knowledge to match mine, but I never managed to find the person he spoke of," Merlin frowned "Do you know who it was?"

I swallowed; this was going to be hard to explain to him. We had arrived in front of my house in almost no time, and checking my iPod I saw we'd been going at a seven minute mile pace. Stopping in the driveway, I was relieved to see that the van was gone. Looking around, I motioned for Merlin to come with me.

"What's wrong?" he whispered to me as I unlatched the gate and made sure it shut soundlessly "Sky?"

"Shh," I told him, listening for any sign of what my brother was doing. I couldn't open any doors but the side-back door without making noise, so instead I murmured to him "Follow me, and don't ask questions for now ok?" he nodded to me and I led him up the stairs, across our patio (which only has two sets of stairs, and we used the back set) and to the only door that was also a storm door and _did not make noise_ when opened.

I opened the storm door and mentally swore when I found the top lock on this door locked. Quickly rummaging in my pockets for a key, I fished out the golden metallic thing and unlocked the door silently with it.

As soon as the door opened, my dog, who is a very lovable one with a brown head, white fur and some brown-black spots on his body with one big black spot covering part of his tail (think a mostly white German Pointer and you get the idea) came over to greet me with a few licks. He was wagging his tail at me, likely because my brother had given him a treat.

I heard my brother moving around in the kitchen and mentally swore before turning to Merlin "Stay hidden. Do you have a spell that makes you invisible?"

"Sort of," admitted the warlock "_Ni anseo_," he whispered, and his body seemed to fade out of sight "I can still be heard though."

"Tap my left shoulder when you get inside the door and then follow me," I murmured to him, and he made a noise that sounded like a grunt of assent. Soon I felt the tap on my left shoulder and I shut both doors, before walking over to my bedroom, the invisible warlock and my dog in tow. When I got into my room, I quickly shut the door before muttering "Merlin, stay here. I'm going to go get some water. Truman, come," I ordered, and the warlock's form shimmered into sight momentarily before nodding to me, and then disappearing. He was sitting on the edge of my bed, the one place no one was likely to get up and find him on.

I opened the door and at the same time took off my exercise shirt, since I had a secondary one on underneath (hey, it's my body and I do what I want). I heard a muffled gasp from behind me as I tossed the sweaty shirt to the floor but ignored it, pulling my door shut just enough as the dog skittered out of my room and proceeded to jingle his way into the kitchen.

"Truman, you're such a wuss," came my brother's voice "You just got back?" he asked me. He was almost my height, which was a real pain to deal with but I ignored it. I could drive; he couldn't. We had three cars now, and one was a white one that I'd bought with my own money. It was a Honda, like the car my Dad used but unlike his car mine had on the bumper a few stickers. One of them read 'Crew is my life', another said 'I'd rather be rowing', and the license plates said 'CRWGRL', or Crew Girl.

"Yeah," I replied "I left a little early, so I'm back early," I admitted to him. Looking at him, he really resembled our Dad and his side of the family. My other little brother, who was likely out with our parents, really resembled my mother's side of the family. I was a mixture, someone who resembled neither side "Did the fridge get stuck on crush again?" I asked, pointing to the symbol over the cube icon on our fridge's icemaker, which was a nice red X.

"No, that was John," replied my brother "Skylar, don't take the Wii; I want it!"

"I'm not going to be watching _Merlin_," I said with a smile "not right now, Henry," I had more important things to deal with, like figuring out how to get Merlin back to where he needed to be, and return to Camelot. And there was a warlock in my room. Yeah; I had much more important things to deal with than this…

Henry only snorted "Yeah, and you'll be in there after an hour looking for something. I'm not stupid, sis."

"And I'm not ignorant; I know most of the time that's what happens, but I've got something I really want to write," I hated lying to him, but I was drinking water so our eyes weren't meeting. That made things much easier "Come on, don't you want it? Or do I have to take it?"

He jumped up from where he was eating chips and hummus to take the food in the other room with him. He un-paused his game, which was Epic Mickey, and began playing it. The music was loud enough for me to hear from my room if the door was open and I knew Merlin had to be looking around.

I turned toward my door just as the warlock poked his head out. He blushed seeing my state of dress, and pulled his head back in. I blushed myself, since I really didn't want to get into trouble, but I had to deal with this, and now. I took my water, and something to eat of course since I almost always do that, to my room and opened the door to see Merlin staring out my bedroom window with a forlorn look in his eyes. His ears were slightly red, and I could see he was blushing while trying to keep his gaze averted.

I shut the door behind me, and sighed before picking up a shirt that wasn't wet through with sweat and pulling it on. Then I turned on the music on my laptop to disguise our voices "Well, you can look now. I can see why Arthur called you an idiot."

Merlin frowned and looked at me, but nodded. Then his eyes widened "How did you know he calls me that?"

"There's a TV show about you and Arthur, something I think is more accurate than history books. Problem is, they portray you and Arthur as older than you really were when all this went on. I'm pretty sure the person funding it is either you, or"

"It's me," Merlin admitted as he saw the name come up on my computer screen "Yes, that's me. They thought I was crazy at first but agreed that it made for a good plot line. I take it you've over-analyzed the episodes." He told me this with a chuckle.

"Of course," I admitted "I'm really into the show, and I actually waited an entire week to watch the season two finale since I really didn't want to watch Balinor die," I could see the pain that brought him and winced myself. Reaching out to touch his arm, I was surprised when he didn't pull away and he turned into my gentle hug, crying with tears he likely hadn't allowed himself to shed. He was like that, in a way.

After five minutes the music stopped playing and I used my foot to restart it. Merlin glanced at me and then at the song playing "You listen to this?"

"When I feel upset, but my family's used to it," I admitted "it keeps me from doing something stupid and keeps our voices from being heard by my brother Henry, who's in the other room on the Wii. I thought he would be off by now, but apparently not. Merlin, I," I swallowed "I think I know who the child is, the one Kilgharrah died upon conception of. I think it's ironic that it was April 29th, because exactly nine months later is my birthday. January 29th."

Merlin's eyes widened "You mean that _you_ are the guardian he was talking about?" I hesitated "You think you are, at least."

At that I managed a nod. He smiled at me before sighing "You're a bit of a mystery to me, Skylar, while you apparently know me pretty well. Tell me about yourself."

So I told him. I told him everything. You can't really hide from a thousand-year-old immortal. I knew a few of my decisions were stupid and I told him that. He replied to me that even a stupid decision can cause you to learn something.

Finally, twenty minutes and four song restarts later, I was finished. He looked at me before smiling "thank you. I think you are; I think that period of closing yourself off was your metamorphosis, the same period a warlock like myself goes through. I had just finished that when I was sent to Camelot and my aging, of course, stopped. I'm pretty sure yours stopped on your birthday." His honesty was more than I was used to and I managed a smile.

"Thanks, Merlin. I've never really bared my soul to anyone before, though I have really wanted to. I've always been too scared," I admitted to him. He nodded.

"I know the feeling well. I never managed to tell Arthur about my magic, you know," my eyes widened and I stared at him in shock "the great deeds as Camelot's sorcerer came after his death."

That was it for me. Now I knew that I had to set things right. Just then, a knock came at my door "Skylar? Mom's on the phone and it's for you, and is someone in there with you?"

I mouthed to Merlin 'vanish,' before I opened the door. The warlock had vanished just as soon as the door was open, and I let him look at the room "I'm not exactly busy, except with writing. Hello?"

"_Skylar, we'll be home late. John's conference went overtime since a parent had a rather interesting scene, and a black-haired lady with aqua eyes showed up momentarily."_ I had a bad feeling about this _"We'll be home late, so take care of Henry until then. Don't let him hog the phone just to talk about his girlfriend, ok?"_

"I'll do my best Mom," I replied, inwardly wincing, because it looked like Henry was going to figure out that I was harboring a warlock in my room. That would be bad "Ok, I love you too. Bye," I hung up "She wants us to have pizza for dinner. You want to order out or eat frozen?"

Henry's nose wrinkled "The frozen stuff is all veggie," he complained.

"Tough," I told him "You can either help me spend on ordering out, and _no dates_ please, or you can eat veggie." He looked at me almost pleadingly. I was the older sibling and had had a few jobs these past summers and even during time not of the crew season, but I was free of them for now. I also had a _lot_ of money in my trust fund and more was added each year. All of this added up meant that unlike Henry, who spent his money on helping pay for dates with his girlfriend, I, who was currently single with no boyfriend, had a lot more spending money.

"Please?" he asked me, and then he saw the shimmer "Skylar, who's there?" he stuck his head into the room "Skylar, move," He ordered me. I folded my arms and he almost caved on me instantly, before walking into my room. The shimmer and a soft chuckle came from the corner where Merlin was sitting.

"Oh, bloody hell," I swore before knocking Merlin lightly in the head to reveal him to Henry. Henry's eyes widened and he stared at him "This is Merlin. Merlin, this is my annoying brother Henry, named after the kings of England. Henry, before you go tell on me, I only met him today and he was about to fall apart."

Henry snorted "You're not the Merlin from Arthurian legends, are you? My sister's obsessed with this stuff, you see," he said, pointing to me "she'll believe anything you tell her about Arthur and his Knights. Oh, and his trusty Court Sorcerer, Merlin."

At that Merlin really did wince and he looked at me, fiddling with his neckerchief "I'm sorry for getting you into this much trouble, Skylar."

Then, I felt the familiar icy hot fire and stared at him "Merlin. You're going nowhere, not in my house without my permission," Merlin's eyes were wide and his jaw was practically on the floor "I'm helping you, even if it means I have to go back to Camelot with you."

"You really are the child," he said almost reverently, and I turned to stare in the mirror at myself. A few markings had made themselves visible around my eyes, which were a soft golden color, while I looked sharper, harder and fiercer than before. Then before my astonished eyes I became normal, no markings or anything else on my face "Sky, I'm going nowhere," he said firmly.

I turned to Henry, whose eyes were wide "Prove that you're Merlin," he challenged him "Prove it to me, and I'll leave you alone about this."

Merlin smiled, before saying "_Ni anseo_," and fading out of sight. A chuckle came from his disguised form, and then a shimmer of gold later he was back "Do you believe me now, youngster?"

Henry almost fell over, and I caught his arm "I'm going to help Merlin. Would you like to have dinner before we start this whole thing, Merlin?" I turned to the warlock, who nodded "Pick a pizza flavor and I'll order for all of us online. Then we can decide what to do and you can decide whether to involve Jackie in this," Henry nodded, almost afraid to involve his girlfriend, who just happened to be one of my friends as well.

It was one of those things you never know if you'll end up regretting. He had ended up falling for Jackie in his first day at crew and ever since then had not only been hooked on the sport but pining after her. She was only one month older than me, born in December instead of January, and with a few tips from me and some nudges the couple had gotten together.

Henry swallowed and began thinking about involving her, while I made the pizza order. Merlin had seemed surprised when he learned I liked spicy food, and had chosen to have what I was having (which was very sweet of him in my eyes). Then I turned to Henry "Are you going to involve Jackie?" I had just ordered and selected the method of payment in cash, including a tip after putting the cash in an envelope.

"Yes," he admitted "but my phone's out of battery so can I use yours?"

"Sure," I handed it to him "Call her; she'll probably be surprised to be hearing from you but it's better than getting anyone _else_ involved. If I involve the team in this, then-wait. Henry, when you're done there are a few people I _need_ to involve, 'k?"

He nodded to me and soon I could hear him say "Hello? Yes, this is Henry, Jackie's-yes, that Henry! Not Henry Knight, the one from crew! Yes, I was hoping to speak to Jackie," he waited, and then his entire face brightened "Hi Jackie!"

I could hear her excited reply _"Henry! You'll never believe what just happened! I think I just saw Merlin!"_

"Jackie, I-my sister can explain this better," he sighed "Do you want to talk to Skylar?"

"_Sure-wait, put it on speaker so I can talk to both of you,"_ he clicked the button and her voice rang out _"Hey Skylar! What's up?"_

"Nothing much, well-no, that's not exactly true," I admitted "Jackie, I need help. Henry and I are home without our parents but something's-it's really strange and I can't explain it. Can you come over here?"

"_If I get permission to, yes. I'll just say we're being supervised. Do you need to get anyone else?"_

"If possible, Savannah, Katherine, Naomi and Matt, the one that's Naomi's boyfriend that is," I admitted to her "Don't tell Kira. I don't want this to be used for blackmail material-Jackie, you're never going to believe this, if I tell you. I'm calling Katherine next, and Naomi last, since she can get Matt. Please, just-come to my house, with Savannah if you can, and don't tell her anything. Just tell her that I need your help."

"_I just saw Merlin!"_ squealed Jackie excitedly _"Sure, I'll come, but you have to explain what's going on."_

"Believe me, you have to see it to believe it," I replied "I'm not even sure I can believe it yet."

"_Hmm…ok, but Savannah will probably want to know…"_

"Tell her it has to do with what you saw, because it does," I said, the happiness in my voice almost impossible to mask.

"_Ok! See you soon then, since my parents will let me out today!"_ she hung up and Henry smiled at me.

"Thanks for doing that Skylar; it's harder to talk to her when she's like that," he said, looking apologetically at the warlock who was standing awkwardly next to me as I was sitting on the couch in our family room.

"I know, believe me," I told him, before saying "Merlin, sit." He did so, staring at me, and I stared back. Both of us burst out laughing at the same time, and Merlin was practically lying on me by the end of it.

"I haven't laughed so hard since I last saw Arthur!" he exclaimed to me, and I nodded to him, with a smile on my face "So, Jackie is your brother's girlfriend, right? Who are the others?"

"Jackie is in my boat in crew; long story Merlin," he smiled and nodded, motioning for me to continue "Savannah is also in my boat, and would never forgive me for leaving her out of this. Katherine, well, she and I were friends when we first met, pretty much. It was during English, and that year, well…our class was badly behaved, we agreed on many things and formed a friendship that has lasted since then. Naomi and I have been friends since we started sitting together at lunch in sophomore year; we never stopped. Matt is Naomi's boyfriend, and he's a year or so younger than she is."

Merlin grinned at me before tugging on my earlobe "It's strange. I have never felt like this, not since Camelot fell. I can actually joke; it's foreign!" I laughed, and his grin grew wider.

"You need to lighten up, Merlin. I'll figure something out; I'm like you now, right? If I'm awake in my power, maybe we can send us all back," I suggested "Damn, I forgot to tell them we had pizza!"

Quickly I stood up, but banged my toe on the chair leg as I went past it and hopped to the laundry room. Merlin followed me, steadying my balance and smiling the entire time.

"It's not funny, Merlin," I protested as he helped me get out the pizza as instructed "all of them like these things; I've eaten pizza with them before-wait a moment, I'll just-Whoa!"

Merlin had somehow managed to trip me and I fell on top of him. He overbalanced, and with the new weight fell to the floor, with me on top of him. Our lips just barely touched.

I was staring at him in shock, and he stared back at me. Both of our expressions were shocked; it was almost like looking in a mirror. Then he swallowed, and said "Sorry," but I didn't feel like he needed to.

I shook my head, and got up, offering him a hand, which he took. He looked rather awkward now, and I winked at him "It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't meant to," I told him softly, lifting the frozen pizza off the floor "C'mon, we have to finish cooking this by the time the rest of it gets here. Let's go, _Emrys_," he almost froze, before chuckling and following me to the kitchen.

I preheated the oven and did everything the package said, before calling Katherine since the pizza would take about half an hour to cook, all told.

"_Hello?"_ it was Katherine's voice on the other end _"Hello, who is this?"_

"Don't play dumb with me Katherine, you saw the caller ID," I told her "I-it's complicated, before you ask, but there's something I need help with. Jackie and Savannah are also coming over, and Henry's here. My parents don't know this, but they're going to be back at midnight since John's conference ran long and then they have the concert to go to. Please believe me when I say you have to see it to believe it."

Merlin gently placed his hand on my arm and spoke softly "If this is causing a problem, I can always get back on my own"

"No," I told him softly "It's not a problem."

"_Oh, who's __that__? Does it have to do with mythology, and that's why you called?"_ asked Katherine.

"One, you'll never believe me unless you see who it is, and two, yes. Now can you come over or not?"

"_Let me see-MOM! CAN I GO OVER TO SKYLAR'S?"_

"_IS YOUR HOMEWORK DONE?"_

"_YES"_

"_FINE, BE BACK BEFORE CURFEW STARTS!"_

"_Alright, I can come! I'll be there at six, unless Naomi needs me to pick her up-whoa! You're getting a call from her I bet!"_

"Let me three-way this, on speaker," I told her before setting the phone to speakerphone and then, in turn, letting Naomi's call through.

"_Whoa! Katherine, that you on the other line?" _asked Naomi.

"_Yep! Skylar needs our help. Sky?"_

"Merlin," I muttered, and he sighed.

"Ok, I'm only going to say this once," he said to the phone. Almost immediately the other two lines fell dead silent "Skylar is the-well, a friend of mine told me about her, and-OH FOR THE BLOODY SAKE OF CAMELOT!" swore the warlock loudly.

Katherine gasped _"That's enough for me to be there by five fifty! Be there soon! Naomi?"_

"_Yeah, I'm out for the night. Can Matt come?"_

"Yeah," Merlin looked confused "Oh come on Merlin, he's a friend."

There was a collective gasp through the phone and the lines both went dead at once. I grinned at him, and he sighed "I can never get those things right…"

I shrugged "It's a form of entertainment; think of it like a performance, and you'll probably have more success."

"I-it's just-it reminds me so much of _them_," Merlin said, unshed tears glistening in his eyes "I'm sorry."

I felt a pain in my own chest when I was reminded of how much he had lost. I smiled at him, before hugging him gently. He was taller than me, by about three or four inches, and he froze under my embrace, before hugging me back.

"We'll get them back for you Merlin, even if it means we're stuck in Camelot forever," I promised him "I promise. By the dragon within me, I promise." I heard a triumphant roar in the back of my head and smiled up at him "For now, let the pain go."

Merlin hesitated, nodding to me "Ok," he frowned "Do you have anything that mends a guilty conscience?"

"No, mine is constantly bothering me," I told him in reply, taking his hand to support him "I'm sorry, Merlin, but it never gets any better. Not until you make up for what you've done."

Merlin nodded. The two of us sat there in silence until Henry came in "Merlin, since you're here, will you play Mario Kart with us on the Wii?"

"Mario Kart?" Merlin said, raising an eyebrow at me. I grinned and stood up, pulling him with me into the living room, and handing him a controller.

"This is a Wii controller. Don't worry about it, and don't use magic please; no cheating," I said almost teasingly and he nodded "B, the trigger, uses power-ups. Hold it like this," I showed him "Two is gas, use the remote like this," I tilted it like how you steer a motorbike "to steer, one is brake and reverse, and the directional pad allows you to throw power-ups like shells backwards. You'll figure it out as we go, I promise. Just watch how I do it once first."

Henry set up a demo game with only two players, me as Rosalina and him as Dry Bones. I was riding a bike, he was riding a cart, and both of us had fun for three laps.

It was also a tie. I turned to Merlin "So, you want to play?"

Merlin grinned and picked up the Wii remote "I think I'll prove to be the quickest study you've ever seen! Can we play?"

Henry set it up for a three player game on versus mode using my pass, since I'd unlocked the most (I was an avid player of any racing game since I loved them) and he picked Dry Bones, while I picked Rosalina. Merlin picked Yoshi and a bike, before asking "Is there any difference?"

I grinned "Bikes are slightly faster, do more tricks in the air, and you can boost them by shaking the remote, but they're harder to steer and when they do a wheelie you can't steer at all. I love them!"

Merlin smiled "Then it's a challenge!"

We were off racing almost instantly as Henry had picked the track, DK's Mountain slope, while we were talking.

I won that round, and Merlin won the next one. It went around in a triangle for awhile, until I started kicking my game up. Merlin matched me, round for round. Eventually Henry resigned from the game, but the two of us were still going at it.

The last match, Rainbow Road, was difficult but I had mastered the twists and turns of this track. It ended in a tie.

Merlin looked at me and our gazes met, before we both burst out laughing. Merlin's happiness was genuine and I really didn't want to ruin it for him.

Henry held up his hand, and Merlin gave him a high five before giving me one. He said "I've not had that much fun in a long time; thanks Skylar, Henry. Good racing!"

"You too, Merlin," I said. Henry stared at the warlock with his mouth open.

"You nearly beat my sister," he said almost wonderingly. Merlin nodded "Merlin, I don't think you get it. No one _ever_ beats Skylar on Rainbow Road, not even Dad. Dad was the one who introduced her to these games but she's so good at racing games that no one will ever play against her. Were you going easy on him?"

"No, not on Rainbow Road; I don't know how to go easy on him on that track. It's too difficult to steer without falling if I slow down my bike," I said. I smiled at Merlin "This seems like a good game for all of us to play. Good race, Merlin. I'd like to do that again sometime, or something similar."

Merlin nodded with a grin on his face, and asked "Where do I get water?"

Henry went to show him, and he went to get some; before he returned the doorbell rang. I shot to my feet and used the peephole to see who was outside. It was Jackie and Savannah. I frowned slightly, but that disappeared as I opened the door "Hey Jackie, Savannah!"

Jackie walked in before she saw Henry on the couch, the Wii remote in his hand "Hey Sky, hi Henry!" she gave him a bright smile that he returned when he saw her, and he patted the couch next to him. Savannah also smiled at me, her usual slouch gone as she was around friends.

"Sky, what's going on?" asked Savannah "There's obviously something."

I heard Merlin cough on his water, and could see him peering curiously at the group from behind the couch, in the doorway that led to our kitchen, but I didn't say anything about it. Instead I said "Seeing is believing, isn't it? We're-oh no!" I ran into the kitchen to the smell of almost-burnt pizza. Savannah, Jackie and Henry followed me, only to see Merlin trying to get the pizza out of the oven without burning himself.

"Skylar, where're the oven mitts?" he asked.

"Oh for heaven's-you have magic!" I reminded him. His eyes turned gold and the pizzas came out just fine, while out of the corner of my eye I could see Jackie and Savannah both staring at him, gaping.

"Where do you want them?" he asked me. I almost slapped myself before pulling out two cutting boards; Merlin put the pizzas down before smiling at me "Sorry; I'm not exactly smart when it comes to cooking. I only knew those were a fire hazard."

I grinned at him "It's ok Merlin; you've never really had to cook pizza, I take it?" he shook his head "thought so. Do you want Sicilian, vegetarian, pepperoni, jalapeño, or the sausage?"

He paused "What's on each of them?"

I listed the ingredients, and he looked at the Sicilian "Can I have Sicilian and then I'll try the jalapeño?"

"Sure," I told him "That's fine-guys?" then I realized both of them were frozen "Savannah, Jackie-Henry, snap your girlfriend out of it." He kissed her cheek, while I shook Savannah's shoulders.

Savannah was the first to recover "You have _Merlin_ in your house! _Merlin_, as in the _one from the TV show?_?"

"Actually, I came up with the TV show and plot line," admitted Merlin, causing her to stare at him in shock. He looked slightly embarrassed "What? I miss Camelot; it was my fault to begin with anyway…"

"Merlin, I told you already, let the pain go for one evening," I ordered him, as I felt the white flare behind my eyes again and our gazes met "Please. Just have fun for once; you deserve it, after spending all this time grieving. Don't you think the prospect of saving them is better?"

The doorbell rang again, and Katherine called "Hey, can we come in?"

"Sure, we're in the kitchen!" I called, praying that Naomi and Matt had come along.

Jackie had long dark brown hair that was very curly and thick; she kept it tied back, else I think it would likely have looked something like Morgana's. Her eyes were a gray-blue color and she was only a month older than me, seventeen. She was currently wearing tan shorts and a dark gray t-shirt with the words 'Crew is the only sport that originated from punishment' on the front underneath a skull and two swords crossed symbol in a dark green color. She was 5'9".

Henry was wearing a red shirt with the USA's flag on it and dark blue shorts. His hair was dark brown, cut military-style since he had turned fifteen and could demand it out of our mother. He had no braces; those had been removed last summer, during his eighth grade year; that was also the year he met Jackie at Navy crew camp. His eyes were blue, with no hint of green in them. Pure blue, with a yellow streak in either eye, inherited from our father. He was 5'9" as well, which kept things from getting too awkward with Jackie.

Savannah was 5'7", and she was ¾ of a year older than Jackie and I. She was already eighteen, which meant she could vote, but hadn't yet because she hadn't found a candidate she really wanted to vote for. She had short, shoulder-length brown hair of a more wood-cinnamon color than Jackie's. Unlike Jackie's, her hair was thinner and straight. She also had warm, dark brown eyes, and a tan that I wished I could get. Of all of us, she was the darkest in coloring. She was also wearing a black t-shirt with the words 'My sport is the only _real_ sport' in white on the front. Her capris were dark green, and she looked almost like a wood elf.

I knew that I couldn't compare to either of them, not with my erg-a-thon T-shirt and exercise capris (dark blue), but I didn't care. We were friends, and that was what really mattered. I smiled up at Merlin, who looked as he did in the show, except for his Camelot, medieval style had been traded for a relatively good fashion sense. He was wearing a blue shirt and black shorts, his shoes having been left by the door.

His neckerchief also hadn't changed. I turned at the noise of someone gasping to see my friends, Katherine and Naomi standing there, with Matt behind them.

Katherine had long wavy brown hair that looked almost like a tree's inside bark (the dark part), and bright emerald green eyes. She was wearing a purple tank top patterned with white flowers and tan shorts. She was also staring right at Merlin, who was living proof that 6th century England had been as advanced as she'd thought (we had a common love for history and culture).

Naomi had long black hair that reached down to the middle of her back and gray eyes; she had her hair down today, framing a paler face than the others of us had, and she was wearing a pink t-shirt with tan shorts.

Matt, her boyfriend, really hadn't changed. He had the same dark blond hair, and dark blue eyes, and darker skin tone than Naomi, but lighter than Savannah's, and he looked at Merlin almost with suspicion, wearing dark gray shorts and a light blue shirt.

"I-It's really" the doorbell rang for a third time, and Henry called "It's the pizza!"

"There's an envelope, give them the envelope!" I yelled back from the kitchen. Henry did so, and came back in carrying two pizzas. I cut the pizzas and pointed to the counters "Help yourselves; we cooked more than enough and I'll leave a note for the parents since I'm pretty sure all of ours are going to the concert tonight. Right?"

I received many nods and one confused look (Merlin) "What is it Merlin?"

"They're alright with this?" he asked me hesitantly.

"We've gotten together like this before; this is no different and I'll have to re-stock the frozen pizza cache but otherwise they really don't care. So, why don't we eat?"

Merlin followed my lead, picking up a piece of the jalapeño and a piece of the Sicilian, before following me into the dining room. I sat at the head of the table, which was oval. Henry sat at the other end, next to Jackie who was on his left. To my immediate left was Merlin, and my immediate right, Katherine. Matt and Naomi also sat next to Merlin, leaving Savannah in between Katherine and Jackie.

"So, what now?" I asked.

That really was the question. We all ate, but normally there was conversation. Finally Jackie burst out "How come you have Merlin in your house, Sky?"

I smiled "Because we can help him. I wouldn't have called you all here if I hadn't been found out by my brother, but then again that means he is a good brother, and was doing his job. I found Merlin on my run today and he looked like he was broken."

Merlin sighed, and he picked up where I left off "I've lived since the fall of Camelot, and I was the reason Arthur died. Morgana prevented me from getting to the throne room in time to save him; I arrived just in time to see my best friend, my _brother_ fall to Mordred's sword. He didn't raise a hand against Mordred; he just took the punishment."

"Why?" asked Katherine, interested "You see, the legend we managed to uncover is that Merlin was an old man-no offense, Merlin-who helped Uther and Ygraine conceive a child."

Merlin coughed and promptly nearly choked on his pizza; as it was his eyes flashed gold and he touched a hand to his throat "Sorry," he apologized "I'm Arthur's age. He grew to be my best friend, my brother in everything but blood. Mordred was like his little brother; despite the hate he had for Uther and the people that sided with him, I _saw_ Mordred's face after Arthur had died. He begged me to kill him when he realized that, in his rage, he had killed the only person aside from Morgana or myself that he cared about. I told him no, that it was his job to rule now that Arthur was gone, and his rule was a short one because when he was forty he couldn't take it anymore and committed suicide. During that time and before, all of my friends died of old age. He was quite surprised that I wasn't aging but figured it had to do with Arthur," Merlin sighed, and I could see the toll it was taking on him to recount this to us "I would give my life if it meant that day changed."

"Merlin, do you know the word for time in the Old Tongue?" I asked him, suddenly consumed with the desire to save something. I don't know what came over me but I knew that destiny hadn't played out the right way and that if I tried, I could change it."

Merlin nodded "Let's attempt that after we eat," the warlock suggested "I'd rather not have to figure out everything all over again and the last time I used it was the day Arthur died."

Naomi stared at me "Skylar, what are you planning?"

"I'm planning on changing things," I told her "You wouldn't be involved if Henry hadn't suggested involving Jackie, so you can thank him for that. I've an idea that will change the way you see Camelot, and history, forever."

We finished eating and I cleaned up the dishes, putting them in the dishwasher before turning it on. I turned to Truman, who was lying on the couch sleeping with a full belly of pizza crusts (we all fed him pizza crusts and since he ran with me it wasn't going to make him fat), and smiled.

I had read the series _Circle of Magic_ and the series after that. I knew that it might work, but then Savannah asked, interrupting my train of thought "Why did you call all of us here?"

"Because I have a way to change the future, or present if you will," I said "by changing the past, that is. I sure hope you're ready to go traipsing around the wilderness in what you're wearing," all of them nodded, and then Jackie's eyes widened.

"You're not serious," she said softly. I let my eyes glow gold, and that was more than enough to convince them otherwise. I was completely and utterly serious.

"Link hands," the warlock ordered, taking Katherine's hand and my hand (which sent a spark up my arm, and I highly doubt that happened to Katherine) in his "Alright. Are you positive?"

"Yes," the circle chorused as one in return.

"Alright. _Tempus,_" the warlock intoned, his eyes glowing gold. I could feel the hot gold fire rush through my veins and following it was a light so bright my eyes hurt, but I couldn't look away. Jackie was enveloped in a pure blue aura, Henry in a dark one shot through with streaks of blue, Savannah in a fiery one, myself, well, I couldn't really see it, Katherine in a lily-flower amethyst one, Matt in a green one and Naomi in a deep violet. Merlin was glowing like a golden light next to me and he smiled.

A line appeared before us, with time designations on it. The line flowed back all the way to the day I could see Merlin's arrival in Camelot. That day, earlier that morning, was the point Merlin chose. The world was enveloped in gold and white light as I passed out, completely unaware that everyone had seen the dragon roar inside my aura. I could see or feel nothing but Merlin's and Naomi's hands in my own, and then darkness, with a perfect silver cord in my chest.

CUT! That's a wrap, for this chapter!

I know the initial interaction between Merlin and Skylar seems a little unrealistic, but you have to understand the guy was about to take his life. She/I couldn't just sit there and do _nothing_! The silver cord will be infrequently mentioned.

I have thought of a new prophecy involving a circle, so don't call me out on that one. As for when they arrive, you'll have to wait for my next update (likely when I've written the next chapter and edited it) for what happens to them next.

This story follows canon, with an AU twist to it. Names may be gender bended as you can change a single letter or just name your child that (I know Morgan is now a boy's name, at least, so there's an example) name despite the fact that it's normally a girl's or boy's name.

I couldn't find 'time' in Old English so I went with something I've seen used as a spell name in Harry Potter fanfiction, _Tempus_.


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